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At least 73 records · Page 4

Particulate and aerosol detector

A device is described for counting aerosols and sorting them according to either size, mass or energy. The component parts are an accelerator, a capacitor sensor and a readout. The accelerator is a means for accelerating the aerosols toward the face of the capacitor sensor with such force that they partially penetrate the capacitor sensor, momentarily discharging it. The readout device is a means for counting the number of discharges of the capacitor sensor and measuring the amplitudes of these different discharges. The aerosols are accelerated by the accelerator in the direction of the metal layer with such force that they penetrate the metal and damage the oxide layers, thereby allowing the electrical charge on the capacitor to discharge through the damaged region. Each incident aerosol initiates a discharge path through the capacitor in such a fashion as to vaporize the conducting path. Once the discharge action is complete, the low resistance path no longer exists between the two capacitor plates and the capacitor is again able to accept a charge. The active area of the capacitor is reduced in size by the damaged area each time a discharge occurs.

Wortman, J. J.↗

Explosive cord

Device, jetcord, is metal-clad linear explosive of sufficient flexibility to allow forming into intricate shapes. Total effect is termed ''cutting'' with jetcord consistently ''cutting'' a target of greater thickness than can be penetrated. Applications include sheet metal working, pipe cutting and fire-fighting.

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Cell and module formation research area

Metallization is discussed. The influence of hydrogen on the firing of base-metal pastes in reducing atmospheres is reported. A method for optimization of metallization patterns is presented. A process sequence involving an AR coating and thick-film metallization system capable of penetrating the AR coating during firing is reported. Design and construction of the NMA implantation machine is reported. Implanted back-surface fields and NMA primary (front) junctions are discussed. The use of glass beads, a wave-soldering device, and ion milling is reported. Processing through the module fabrication and environmental testing of its design are reported. Metallization patterns by mathematical optimization are assessed.

Bickler, D. B.↗

Chromite-Plagioclase Assemblages as a New Shock Indicator; Implications for the Shock and Thermal Histories of Ordinary Chondrites

Chromite in ordinary chondrites (OC) can be used as a shock indicator. A survey of 76 equilibrated H, L and LL chondrites shows that unshocked chromite grains occur in equant, subhedral and rounded morphologies surrounded by silicate or intergrown with metallic Fe-Ni and/or troilite. Some unmelted chromite grains are fractured or crushed during whole-rock brecciation. Others are transected by opaque veins; the veins form when impacts cause localized heating of metal-troilite intergrowths above the Fe-FeS eutectic (988 C), mobilization of metal-troilite melts, and penetration of the melt into fractures in chromite grains. Chromite-plagioclase assemblages occur in nearly every shock-stage S3-S6 OC; the assemblages range in size from 20-300 microns and consist of 0.2-20-micron-size euhedral, subhedral, anhedral and rounded chromite grains surrounded by plagioclase or glass of plagioclase composition. Plagioclase has a low impedance to shock compression. Heat from shock-melted plagioclase caused adjacent chromite grains to melt; chromite grains crystallized from this melt. Those chromite grains in the assemblages that are completely surrounded by plagioclase are generally richer in Al2O3, than unmelted, matrix chromite grains in the same meteorite. Chromite veinlets (typically 0.5-2 microns thick and 10-300 microns long) occur typically in the vicinity of chromite-plagioclase assemblages. The veinlets formed from chromite-plagioclase melts that were injected into fractures in neighboring silicate grains; chromite crystallized in the fractures and the residual plagioclase-rich melt continued to flow, eventually pooling to form plagioclase-rich melt pockets. Chromite-rich chondrules (consisting mainly of olivine, plagioclase-normative mesostasis, and 5-15 vol.% chromite) occur in many shocked OC and OC regolith breccias but they are absent from primitive type-3 OC. They may have formed by impact melting chromite, plagioclase and adjacent mafic silicates during higher-energy shock events. The melt was jetted from the impact site and formed droplets due to surface tension. Crystallization of these droplets may have commenced in flight, prior to landing on the parent-body surface. Chromite-plagioclase assemblages and chromite veinlets occur in 25 out of 25 shock-stage S1 OC of petrologic type 5 and 6 that I examined. Although these rocks contain unstrained olivine with sharp optical extinction, most possess other shock indicators such as extensive silicate darkening, numerous occurrences of metallic Cu, polycrystalline troilite, and opaque veins. It seems likely that these rocks were shocked to levels at least as high as shock-stage S3 and then annealed by heat generated during the shock event. During annealing, the olivine crystal lattices healed but other shock indicators survived. Published Ar-Ar age data for some SI OC indicate that many shock and annealing events occurred very early in the history of the parent asteroids. The common occurrence of shocked and annealed OC is consistent with collisions being a major mechanism responsible for metamorphosing OC.

Rubin, Alan E.↗

Quantitative near-field water–air spray measurements at elevated pressures by neutron radiography imaging

Extensive experimental research on high-pressure spray has been conducted for decades to deepen our understanding and optimize its use in transportation, aviation, and propulsion applications; however, the near-field and in-nozzle flow characteristics are not fully understood. Dense near-field spray is among the most challenging diagnostic tasks since light is severely scattered and diffused by the liquid droplets and columns. In this work, the near-field spray and in-nozzle flow characteristics of an aeration nozzle at elevated pressures were characterized by neutron radiography imaging at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory High Flux Isotope Reactor. Neutron imaging benefits via strong penetration depths for some metals (i.e., aluminum, lead, and steel) and is sufficiently sensitive to detection of light elements, especially for hydrogen-based molecules, due to the large incoherent scattering cross section of neutrons. Both two-dimensional snapshots of the near-field spray and a three-dimensional tomographic scan of the nozzle geometry and in-nozzle water were obtained. This work provides new quantitative characterization of practical metal nozzle geometry for accurate boundary conditions, internal flow patterns inside the nozzle, and high-pressure spray flows. In conclusion, the findings may be used to improve performance and operating conditions of transportation vehicles and propulsion systems.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Study of meteoroid detection systems applicable to the outer planets missions

Modifications to the Pioneer 10/11 meteoroid detection experiment to allow it to be used for outer planet missions were investigated. Both pressurized cells and metal-oxide silicon (MOS) penetration detectors are considered. Both the sensors systems and the electronics are treated. Investigation of the calibration and characterization of the MOS penetration detector is reported.

Brooks, A. D.↗

Effects of fragments

Methods used to determine structural damage caused by fragments from accidental explosions are outlined. Structures considered include launch facilities for liquid propellant rockets and metal plates and sheets. Penetrating and nonpenetrating fragments were considered.

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Accelerated/abbreviated test methods for predicting life of solar cell encapsulants to Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology for the encapsulation task of the low-cost solar array project

An important principle is that encapsulants should be tested in a total array system allowing realistic interaction of components. Therefore, micromodule test specimens were fabricated with a variety of encapsulants, substrates, and types of circuitry. One common failure mode was corrosion of circuitry and solar cell metallization due to moisture penetration. Another was darkening and/or opacification of encapsulant. A test program plan was proposed. It includes multicondition accelerated exposure. Another method was hyperaccelerated photochemical exposure using a solar concentrator. It simulates 20 year of sunlight exposure in a short period of one to two weeks. The study was beneficial in identifying some cost effective encapsulants and array designs.

Kolyer, J. M.↗

Oceanic corrosion test of bare and zinc-protected aluminum alloys for seawater heat exchangers

Bare 3004 tubes, 7072 Alclad 3004 tubes, and bare and zinc diffusion treated 3003 extrusions from a brazed aluminum, plate-fin heat exchanger were exposed to 1.8 m/sec flowing seawater aboard an open ocean test facility moored 3.4 km off the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. After six months exposure, the average corrosion rates for most varieties of aluminum materials converged to a low value of 0.015 mm/yr (0.6 mils/yr). Pitting did not occur in bare 3003 and 3004 samples during the six month test. Pitting did occur to varying degrees in the Alclad and zinc diffusion treated material, but did not penetrate to the base metal. Biofouling countermeasures (intermittent chlorination and brushing) did not affect the corrosion rates to any significant extent. Intermittent chlorination at a level of 0.5 ppm for 28 minutes daily controlled microbiofouling of the samples but did not prevent the development of a macrobiofouling community in areas of the plumbing with low flow.

Sasscer, D. S.↗

Micrometeoroid Impacts on the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2: Larger Particles

The Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) was returned from the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) by shuttle mission STS-125 in 2009. In space for 16 years, the surface accumulated hundreds of impact features on the zinc orthotitanate paint, some penetrating through into underlying metal. Larger impacts were seen in photographs taken from within the shuttle orbiter during service missions, with spallation of paint in areas reaching 1.6 cm across, exposing alloy beneath. Here we describe larger impact shapes, the analysis of impactor composition, and the micrometeoroid (MM) types responsible.

Kearsley, A. T.↗

Capacitors Would Help Protect Against Hypervelocity Impacts

A proposal investigates alternatives to the present bumper method of protecting spacecraft against impacts of meteoroids and orbital debris. The proposed method is based on a British high-voltage-capacitance technique for protecting armored vehicles against shaped-charge warheads. A shield, according to the proposal, would include a bare metal outer layer separated by a gap from an inner metal layer covered with an electrically insulating material. The metal layers would constitute electrodes of a capacitor. A bias potential would be applied between the metal layers. A particle impinging at hypervelocity on the outer metal layer would break apart into a debris cloud that would penetrate the electrical insulation on the inner metal layer. The cloud would form a path along which electric current could flow between the metal layers, thereby causing the capacitor to discharge. With proper design, the discharge current would be large enough to vaporize the particles in the debris cloud to prevent penetration of the spacecraft. The shield design can be mass optimized to be competitive with existing bumper designs. Parametric studies were proposed to determine optimum correction between bias voltage, impacting particle velocity, gap space, and insulating material required to prevent spacecraft penetration.

Edwards, David↗

Penetration rates over 30 years in the space age

Experimental data from spacecraft providing impact penetration rates and cratering for metallic targets is reviewed. Data includes NASA Explorers 16 and 23 and the Pegasus series, the second US-UK satellite Ariel 2, Space Shuttle STS-3 (MFE), recovered surfaces on Solar Max Satellite, The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) and EuReCa TiCCE. Factors concerning exposure to the environment are considered and, especially, material properties which affect the penetration resistance. Reference to a common material, Aluminum alloy 2024-T3, is effected and the data then compared to define firstly an average impact flux over the period. The data is examined, in the context of possible satellite and space debris growth rates, to determine the constancy of the flux. This also provides strong constraints on the current space debris component. It is found that the impact data are consistent with domination by natural meteoroid sources. Growth rates are not evident within the period 1980-1990 and Eureca TiCCE fluxes in 1993, for particles penetrating foils of around 10 microns thickness, supports the constancy of the flux. At larger dimensions the 1993 Eureca TiCCE fluxes show an 8-fold increase but this is considered not inconsistent with the selective exposure to meteoroid streams of a satellite stabilized in heliocentric co-ordinates for an 11 month period.

Mcdonnell, J. A. M.↗

Production of an ion-exchange membrane-catalytic electrode bonded material for electrolytic cells

A good bond is achieved by placing a metal salt in solution on one side of a membrane and a reducing agent on the other side so that the reducing agent penetrates the membrane and reduces the metal. Thus, a solution containing Pt, Rh, etc., is placed on one side of the membrane and a reducing agent such as NaBH, is placed on the other side. The bonded metal layer obtained is superior in catalytic activity and is suitable as an electrode in a cell such as for solid polymer electrolyte water electrolysis.

Takenaka, H.↗

NASA Tech Briefs, July 2003

Topics covered include: Real-Time, High-Frequency QRS Electrocardiograph; Software for Improved Extraction of Data From Tape Storage; Radio System for Locating Emergency Workers; Software for Displaying High-Frequency Test Data; Capacitor-Chain Successive-Approximation ADC; Simpler Alternative to an Optimum FQPSK-B Viterbi Receiver; Multilayer Patch Antenna Surrounded by a Metallic Wall; Software To Secure Distributed Propulsion Simulations; Explicit Pore Pressure Material Model in Carbon-Cloth Phenolic; Meshed-Pumpkin Super-Pressure Balloon Design; Corrosion Inhibitors as Penetrant Dyes for Radiography; Transparent Metal-Salt-Filled Polymeric Radiation Shields; Lightweight Energy Absorbers for Blast Containers; Brush-Wheel Samplers for Planetary Exploration; Dry Process for Making Polyimide/ Carbon-and-Boron-Fiber Tape; Relatively Inexpensive Rapid Prototyping of Small Parts; Magnetic Field Would Reduce Electron Backstreaming in Ion Thrusters; Alternative Electrochemical Systems for Ozonation of Water; Interferometer for Measuring Displacement to Within 20 pm; UV-Enhanced IR Raman System for Identifying Biohazards; Prognostics Methodology for Complex Systems; Algorithms for Haptic Rendering of 3D Objects; Modeling and Control of Aerothermoelastic Effects; Processing Digital Imagery to Enhance Perceptions of Realism; Analysis of Designs of Space Laboratories; Shields for Enhanced Protection Against High-Speed Debris; Study of Dislocation-Ordered In(x)Ga(1-x)As/GaAs Quantum Dots; and Tilt-Sensitivity Analysis for Space Telescopes.

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The orbital debris detector consortium: Suppliers of instruments for in-situ measurements of small-particles in the space environment

Industry and university participants have joined together to form the IMPA:Ct consortium (In-situ Monitors of the Particulate Ambient: Circumterrestrial) which offers a broad range of flight qualified instruments for monitoring the small particle (0.1 micron to 10 cm) environment in space. Instruments are available in 12 months or less at costs ranging from 0.5 to 1.5 million dollars (US) for the total program. Detector technologies represented by these groups are: impact-induced capacitor-discharge (MOS, metal-oxide-silicon), cratering or penetration of electroactive thin film (polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)), impact-plasma detection, acoustic detection, CCD tracking of optical scatter of sunlight, and photodiode detection of optical scatter of laser light. The operational characteristics, general spacecraft interface and resource requirements (mass/power/telemetry), cost and delivery schedules, and points of contact for seven different instruments are presented.

Simon, C. G.↗